Boy with dwarfism gets 7 new pen pals after Facebook post

HIBBING, Minn. (KMSP) - A mother from Hibbing, Minn. reached out to Gillette Children's Hospital on Sunday with a request to find a pen pal for her 8-year-old son Braxton who hasdwarfism. After thousands of people shared her wish on Facebook, Braxton now has numerous potential pen pals from all over the world to connect with.

"My sons and I all have dwarfism and live in a small town where it's rare. I would love to find my 8-year-old son, Braxton, another little boy who has dwarfism around the same age so that they could become pen pals.” – Molly Lautizi, Braxton's mom

In just two days, Molly's message was shared all over the Internet. Thanks to the power of social media, Braxton now has at least seven pen pals with dwarfism from places including Connecticut, Missouri, Sweden, Australia, and Nova Scotia.

One of his new pen pals is a young boy named Brayden from Illinois. The hospital said Brayden's mom Lisa reached out to the family after coming across Molly's Facebook post on Sunday.

"This is such a heartwarming story and one that shows the power of social media to not only do good, but to connect people from across the world," Cate Pardo, the hospital's spokesperson said.